Influence of body mass and environmental oxygen tension on the oxygen consumption rates of an enteropneust, Glossobalanus crozieri

ABSTRACT

The present study deals with a species of enteropneust, Glossobalanus crozieri, focusing on two aspects of its respiration a) oxygen conssumption and body mass, and b) the influence of environmental oxygen tension on the respiratory rate. Preliminarily, the body water content was shown to be 85 per cent of the whole body weight. The regression coefficient of the oxygen consumption on the wet body mass (0.578) seems to agree with the view that in enteropneusts respiration is mainly cutaneous. The respiratory rate was significantly reduced at O2 tensions from 76 mmHg downwards, suggesting conformity rather than regulation.